The Seven Realms: Bridges
by Xander Jaws
Summary: As shinobi and wizards explore an alliance with each other, the youth of both worlds form the foundations of this union. But first they have to make peace with each other.


Well, this is the second story in my crossover series. The first is Opening, which shows how the different worlds first come into contact with each other. This one focuses on just two of the six worlds that Opening showcased. I went to a lot of effort to come up with a unique take on the NarutoxHarryPotter crossover, and I think it turned out well. Read and review!

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto hated the people he was sitting with, and the people he wanted to sit with hated him. The only person at the table who he'd known more than half a day was the person he liked least. And to make it all worse, he couldn't recognize a single dish at this feast.

The day had started off well, even after all the weirdness of the weeks leading up to it. He thought back to when this began, almost a month ago. He had just finished class at the Academy for the day when Iruka-sensei had called on him and eight other students to take them to the Hokage. Everyone had been confused…

XXXXX

"What did I do?" Sakura Haruno moaned. "I've been a good student, haven't I? I didn't break any of the rules like Naruto-baka!"

"Relax, Sakura!" Kiba Inuzuka said. "Maybe it's a good thing, right? We're probably here to get awarded for being such kickass shinobi!"

"Baka, Naruto wouldn't be here if it was that!"

"Sakura-chaan!" Naruto whined. "I'm a great shinobi! If Sasuke-teme can get awarded, so can I!"

"Please, Naruto! You're nowhere near Sasuke-kun's level!" Sakura sneered at him.

"Would you mind keeping quiet?" Shikamaru Nara said. The lazy boy was stretched out over two chairs and still had his eyes closed. "I'm trying to relax before we get dragged in there for who-knows-what."

"Don't be so lazy," Ino Yamanaka chided her friend.

"You're all being so troublesome," he muttered.

"It is true that unnecessary anxiety will decrease our mental faculties and render us less than fully capable of adapting to the situation and handling adversity." Shino Aburame said calmly. Everyone stared cluelessly at the boy.

"He means that if we're too worried, we can't handle what's coming," Shikamaru translated.

"Oh."

Everyone was quiet for another minute, fidgeting nervously - except for Shikamaru and Shino - until Iruka opened the door to the Hokage's office and beckoned them in.

"Are we in trouble?" Sakura blurted out.

"No, no one's in trouble," Iruka assured them. "Come in and we'll explain what's going on."

Except for Naruto, none of them had been in the Hokage's office before. The blond troublemaker strolled right in, grinned brightly at the village's most powerful shinobi, and plopped himself down in a chair.

"Hey old man! What's going on?"

The other students filed in slowly behind him, not saying anything. Half of them still looked like they expected to be scolded for something.

"Hello Naruto," Sarutobi smiled at them. "None of you need be afraid, you're only here because we are offering you a very special opportunity."

"Really? Like super special shinobi training?" Naruto exclaimed eagerly, jumping up out of his chair. "You've come to the right person old man! I'm gonna be the greatest shinobi ever, and then I'm gonna be the Hokage!"

"Naruto," the Hokage held up one hand to halt the eleven-year-old's flow. "It is a special kind of training, but it's very far from what you're imagining."

"Really?" If anything, Naruto was more excited. Special training beyond what he could imagine? It had to be something amazing!

"If you accept, you'll be going to a different kind of school than the Shinobi Academy," Sarutobi explained. "However, in order to hear the details, you will all have to understand that this information is classified as top secret, and must not be shared with anyone outside this room." The gentle smile he'd been wearing slowly vanished as he spoke. The nine students all glanced away from his suddenly piercing stare. "If you do not think yourselves capable of keeping such knowledge secret from your friends and family, you may leave now and no one will think any less of you." He gestured to the door. "If, however, you believe you are able to keep this a secret, you may stay and learn of the opportunity you have been offered."

XXXXX

_I could have walked out the door_, Naruto thought, looking back at that moment. He glanced around the massive dining hall, taking in the amazing surroundings and the very annoying people. _Now I'm stuck here all year!_

XXXXX

None of them took the door, although several of them were hesitant, especially that shy girl Hinata Hyuuga. Once they all agreed that they could keep a secret for the village, Sarutobi smiled down at them all for a moment before launching into an explanation.

"Last year, my former student Jiraiya was experimenting with space-time seals. Impossible as this sounds, he accidentally tore a brief hole between our world and another."

"Whoa! That's awesome!" Naruto exclaimed. There was a brief pause as everyone looked at him, then he asked: "What does that mean?"

Most of his classmates rolled their eyes at the dead last student, while their sensei sighed and the Hokage chuckled lightly.

"That's a bit of a complicated answer," he said. "In the practical sense, what happened was that a man from another world was pulled into ours."

"Cool!"

"It was certainly interesting," Sarutobi agreed. "Jiraiya brought him to see me and we were able to send him back to his world. Since then, we've visited that world and have communicated with a man named Albus Dumbledore. He is-"

"That's a weird name," Naruto interrupted. Sakura smacked him on the back of the head.

"Shut up! Don't be so rude!"

"As I was saying," Sarutobi continued, "He is a wizard, and the head of a school for such people."

"A wizard?" Kiba repeated, surprised.

"Yes. We ran various tests on their magic and our chakra, but it turns out they're different types of power altogether. However, it turns out that it may be possible for young people to develop the ability to wield both chakra and magic. We attempted the procedure with both adults and teenagers, but only the teenagers could integrate the magic into themselves. We have yet to test it with anyone your age, but it stands to reason that you will be able to learn magic."

"Awesome!" Naruto cheered. "So what are we waiting for, old man?! Let's hurry up and get magic already!"

"It's not that simple," the Hokage said, holding up a hand again to stall Naruto. "Becoming able to use magic is one thing, but untrained wizards and witches are virtually useless. Even worse, their power can endanger themselves and others. So, if you wish to participate in this experiment, you will have to spend at least two years in the other world attending Dumbledore's school, Hogwarts."

"Wait, we have to leave the village?" Ino blurted out.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. You'll be able to return during summer, but otherwise you have to stay there. I've seen the place, it's really quite nice."

"But our family won't know where we are, will they?"

"They will be informed that you are undergoing a specialized training outside the village, the details of which are top secret," the Hokage said. "You can send them letters, of course."

"I'll go!" Naruto exclaimed. He didn't have family to stay for anyway, and he would have jumped at any chance to leave the village.

"Me too," Sasuke Uchiha agreed.

"Well if Sasuke-kun's going, then so am I," Sakura declared.

"Same for me!" Ino said.

"I-I'll go," Hinata stammered.

"Sounds cool!" Kiba said.

"I shall join," Shino stated.

"This is gonna be so troublesome," Shikamaru groaned. "But Ino'll never shut up if I stay behind."

"Hey!" Ino snapped.

"I'll go with you Shika," Choji said.

"Great! So we're all in!" Naruto exclaimed.

XXXXX

In all the excitement, he hadn't really thought about the fact that he either disliked or didn't know almost all of them. Even Sakura, who he'd been crushing on since his first day at the Academy, always shunned him to chase after Sasuke. And it seemed there was no getting away from the annoying Uchiha.

XXXXX

Everything went quickly after that first day. All of them had infusions of magical blood, followed by some sort of medical ninjutsu to help their bodies absorb and integrate magic. Naruto took a surprising amount of work compared to the others, and they eventually had to use an anesthetic to put him to sleep for two days while they forced his body to accept the blood.

Once that was done, Iruka took them all to the other world using a large seal array that transported them in a dizzying blur of motion. Most of them had to throw up in the bushes when they slammed to a halt, including Naruto. The next two weeks were like intense school sessions, as the nine of them had to learn all about the new world they would be living in, both the magical and non-magical parts. Once they could all blend in reasonably well as "transfer students from Japan," Iruka pronounced them ready to buy their supplies for school.

"Sensei," Shikamaru spoke up. For once, he didn't sound half-asleep. "What about our shinobi studies? Won't we fall behind if we spend all year studying only magic?"

"That's why I'm here," Iruka said. "I'll be staying with you at Hogwarts, and you'll continue to study shinobi arts under myself. The wizards have agreed to this, so long as we make the effort to teach some of their students ninjutsu."

"I see." Shikamaru sounded unusually thoughtful for once, but after a few seconds he just shrugged and looked ready to take a nap.

"No time for sleep Shikamaru," Iruka said sternly. "We're going to Diagon Alley today. It's where they sell everything you need for school."

"All of us are going?" Shikamaru asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked around the room. Iruka grimaced as he observed the group of shinobi students. Naruto had gotten into another argument with Sasuke, who was being backed up by Sakura and Ino. Kiba kept pestering Shino to try to get some kind of reaction from the stoic boy. Choji was trying to intervene between Kiba and Shino, while also casting worried looks at Naruto and Sasuke, who were coming dangerously close to a fistfight if the events of the last week were any indication. Hinata was too nervous to get actively involved, but she was looking more worried than Choji as she watched Naruto.

"Good point," Iruka conceded. "You, Choji, Kiba, Naruto, and Hinata will come with me. I'll take the other four later."

He quickly broke up the fights and got the five of them ready for the trip to Diagon Alley. Shino showed no reaction when Iruka told Sasuke he was in charge for the time being. The Uchiha boy just nodded calmly while his two fangirls squealed over how responsible he was.

"Alright everyone, remember that the people of this culture are much less accustomed to the… enthusiasm some of you go at life with." Iruka looked pointedly at Naruto, who gave him a huge cheesy grin in response. Iruka sighed. "Just try not to draw too much attention to yourself."

Naruto spent the entire thirty-minute trip to Diagon Alley trying to figure out the best way to prank Iruka-sensei. Sadly, he'd been deprived of most of his ninja tools after he and Sasuke nearly stabbed each other. But he still had some string and wire, and he was sure that a magical marketplace would be the perfect place to cause a little havoc and have some fun.

Then he actually got to the magical marketplace - after the bartender had caught him trying to steal a bottle of amber liquid - and for the first time in his life he was speechless. It wasn't just how amazing the place was, with all the blatantly magical tools and toys for sale, though that was a big part of it. It was also that, for the first time in his life, he could walk into a crowd of people and none of them treated him differently. Growing up in Konoha, he'd always been hated and shunned by the adults of the village for some reason. The kids were no better, despite all the times Naruto had tried to play with them. By now, Naruto had grown so accustomed to everyone treating him like trash that when they _didn't_ it was enough to render him speechless. He noticed the other members of the group giving him odd looks as he just walked calmly alongside them, staring at all the people who would smile at him as he passed. He decided he didn't care what his classmates and his teacher thought. This was the best moment in his life, and he couldn't have been happier when he thought back to his choice to come here. A whole year away from Konoha, with people like this! It was a dream come true.

XXXXX

Naruto wanted to reach back in time and smack himself for being so stupidly optimistic. As if something that good would actually happen.

XXXXX

Iruka had taken them to one store after the other, telling the owners that they needed supplies for a first year at Hogwarts. The school was obviously well known, because every store owner was able to immediately get exactly what they needed. Iruka paid for it all with a bag of gold coins. After the first store, he immediately promised Naruto a humiliating punishment should the boy try to steal the bag of money. Naruto gave him a mischievous grin, just to keep his teacher on his toes.

Finally, once they were all hauling a trunk full of school supplies behind themselves, Iruka took them to the wand store. To Naruto's surprise, it was a rather ordinary shop, not showing any inkling of being magical, never mind selling the very thing that made magic possible. They were about to go in when the door opened and a mountain of a man stepped out. All six of them quickly got out of the way, most of them apprehensive. But the giant man just glanced at their luggage and smiled at them through his thick beard.

"Students, eh? I'll be seein' ya at school then." A boy their own age with messy black hair and glasses followed the man out and looked curiously at the shinobi. Naruto grinned brightly at him and the boy seemed to relax slightly. "Come on, Harry," the giant man said, and the two of them left.

"That guy's a teacher?" Kiba asked Iruka once they were out of earshot.

"I don't know. I've only seen two of the school teachers myself," Iruka said. He entered the store, gesturing for the five of them to follow. Naruto took the lead, Kiba right behind him. The other three trailed in more hesitantly.

"Welcome, welcome," the old man behind the counter greeted them. He gave them all a knowing smile. "Ah, I think you are the ones which Dumbledore told me would be here. The… foreigners?" Every one of the shinobi could tell that he knew about them being from another world.

"We're from Japan, Mr. Ollivander" Iruka said.

"Of course," the old man replied. He disappeared amongst shelves stacked full of boxes, and they could hear him rummaging around for a minute before he reappeared. "You there," he pointed at Kiba. "Try this one. Twelve and a half inches long, holly and unicorn hair." He set a long box down on the counter and opened it, revealing a slim wooden wand. Kiba hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and picked up the wand.

"Is that it?" He asked, looking at it curiously.

"No, wave it around!" Ollivander said sharply. Kiba jumped a little, then swung the wand in a wide arc. With a loud groan, one of the bookshelves began to bend over, tipping forward and spilling boxes everywhere. Ollivander snatched the wand out of Kiba's hand as he drew his own, flicking it in the direction of the bookcase. It righted itself at once and the fallen boxes jumped back to their places. "A different one, then," Ollivander said calmly. He narrowed his eyes at Kiba, scrutinizing the boy closely. The boy fidgeted nervously under his gaze until the old man wheeled around and headed to the back of the shop. They could hear him muttering indistinctly as he searched for something, then he reemerged after a minute with two boxes clutched in his hands. He set them down and offered one for Kiba to try. "Eleven inches, hazel and dragon heartstring."

"Is this one safer?" The boy asked.

"No," Ollivander said. He gestured for Kiba to try it. Kiba swallowed, raised the wand to test it… and Ollivander snatched it out of his hand. "That one's no good. Just had to check." He put it away and took out the other one, made of a darker wood than the last two. "Here. Third time's the charm. Thirteen and a half inches, blackthorn and dragon heartstring."

Kiba raised the wand tentatively, then swung it in a much more restrained motion than before. A wind snapped out from him, ruffling everyone's hair and raising dust.

"Whoa," the young wizard murmured. He seemed more surprised by the result than anyone else in the room.

"Excellent!" Ollivander declared happily. He put both wands back in their boxes and set the good one to the side as he took the other back into storage.

The next half hour passed in a blur for Naruto as he watched Shikamaru and Choji be matched with wands. Choji found the right wand on Ollivander's fifth attempt("Fourteen inches, cypress and unicorn tail hair."), although the chubby boy was still mortified from when his first wand began to disintegrate everyone's clothing. Shikamaru, on the other hand, took much longer to find a suitable wand for. Naruto stopped counting after ten, but he suspected it was nearly twice that before Ollivander finally selected one("Twelve and a quarter inches, beech and phoenix feather.") that caused the lights to grow brighter, throwing all their shadows into sharp relief against the walls.

"Curious," Ollivander murmured. "My second phoenix feather wand to be sold today. These are rare, and do not pick their owners lightly," he told Shikamaru. The boy looked unusually thoughtful for the second time that day.

"Are wands intelligent?" He asked Ollivander seriously.

"Not like we are, but they are more than mere tools. The wand chooses the wizard, never forget that." He put away the wand and set it beside Kiba and Choji's before going to look for the next one.

Hinata was chosen next, and took only a little longer than Choji to find the proper wand. Her seventh attempt ("Thirteen and three quarter inches, larch and unicorn tail hair.") made the whole shop feel warm and sunny the moment she picked it up.

"Now then," Ollivander turned his gaze to Naruto. "I suspect the most difficult has been saved for last." He smiled before beginning his search anew.

"Thirteen inches, apple and dragon heartstring." The window shattered.

"Fourteen inches, willow and unicorn tail hair." The lights exploded.

"Eleven inches, hornbeam and dragon heartstring." A bookcase tore itself apart. "Never done that before," Ollivander remarked.

And so it continued, Ollivander growing excited as the right wand eluded him.

"This one has been here for so long, maybe it's time. Thirteen and a half inches, cherry and unicorn tail hair." The window broke again, this time rather musically. Ollivander just nodded as if he'd expected that, fixed the glass with a wave of his wand, and went back for another wand.

"Fifteen inches, oak and dragon heartstring." A weird moan filled the air, grating on their nerves. Ollivander hurriedly snatched the wand out of Naruto's hand.

"Fifteen inches, aspen and dragon heartstring." The door broke in two horizontally, each half swinging on a single hinge.

"Eleven and a quarter inches, maple and dragon heartstring." The lights again.

"Twelve and three quarter inches, oak and unicorn tail hair." For the third time, the window. Ollivander had the glass shards flying back into place before they hit the ground.

"Fourteen and a half inches, chestnut and dragon heartstring." Nothing happened, because Ollivander took the wand back as soon as Naruto picked it up.

Forty one. Forty one wands had been selected for him to try, one after the other, until he had broken everything in the shop - almost the shop itself at one point - and Ollivander was giddy with the challenge of finding the right wand.

"Here we go. Thirteen and three quarter inches, dogwood and dragon heartstring." He smiled expectantly as Naruto took it. Everyone but Iruka and Hinata were outside now, ever since Kiba got smacked in the head by the falling door. They were both still waiting patiently, and when he glanced over at them with a premature apology all over his face, Hinata smiled encouragingly, though she didn't quite meet his eyes. She was probably wondering what he would break this time. He shrugged, raised the wand, and waved it once.

Light flew from it, bright sparks that danced through the air, changing color and setting off a sound of cheerful bells. Ollivander's face lit up with a grin as Iruka smiled in relief and Hinata gave him a quick applause.

"That took forever," Naruto groaned as Ollivander packed up the wand and Iruka went to pay.

"Oh, I've had worse," Ollivander assured him.

They had spent so much time at the wand shop that the sun was going down when they left. Iruka took them back to the hotel they were staying at and took the other four to Diagon Alley the next day. He held onto all their wands after Naruto and Sasuke nearly burned down the room.

XXXXX

_That was Sasuke's fault_, Naruto reminded himself. _I was innocent._

XXXXX

Finally, it was the day of departure. They made it to the train station without incident, Naruto being too excited to cause trouble. All of them had learned what a train was, but seeing it in person was a different story.

"Who invented these things?" Choji wondered, slightly awed at seeing a mass of steel hurtle down the rails.

"Whoever it was, they were a genius," Shikamaru said.

"As soon as you're done, you have to run into that wall," Iruka interrupted them.

"Sorry, what?" Naruto asked.

"It's a trick wall. People with magic will go through it, apparently. It's how we get to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."

"9 3/4?" Sasuke repeated.

"That's what I was told," Iruka said. He gestured at the metal wall. Naruto shrugged and went first, pushing his cart full of luggage at a brisk pace. He heard Kiba follow him, the competitive boy not wanting to be left behind. Naruto couldn't help closing his eyes the moment before he should have hit a solid wall. After walking a few more steps without incident, he opened his eyes again to find a completely different scene in front of him.

A crowd of people were milling around the platform, where a bright red train sat. The people were dressed just like the ones in Diagon Alley, with the long robes and cloaks that Naruto was coming to understand were standard wizard clothing. He grinned brightly and headed for the train, looking forward to a repeat of his experience in Diagon Alley. The wizards didn't disappoint; he was once again just an ordinary person there, suffering none of the disgust and contempt that was common back home. Ignoring his classmates, he started looking for an empty compartment. They'd gotten there a bit late - Iruka didn't want them to stand out too much - so it took him a while to find an empty compartment. He tried to shove his luggage up into the rack, but he could barely reach it. Iruka showed up after a minute with the other boys in tow and helped them put all their luggage away. The girls had found their own compartment.

"I'll be up front with the conductor if you need me during the trip," he told them all before leaving.

"This is gonna be so cool!" Naruto exclaimed as the train began to move.

"Calm down, dead last," Sasuke sneered. "This is just a training mission, no need to get all worked up over it like an idiot."

"Just a training mission? We're away from the village for a whole year! We're learning things that no ninja has ever known before!"

"That happens every time someone makes a new technique," the Uchiha pointed out. "Try to let our village keep a little dignity while we're here."

"Don't be so troublesome," Shikamaru said. The lazy boy let his head fall back and went to sleep. Naruto snorted derisively at his lack of energy.

"Getting needlessly worked up will cause you to waste reserves and be less capable at a time where those reserves are necessary," Shino said. Everyone stared at him blankly.

"You're gonna tire yourself out now before we get to anything good," Shikamaru translated, eyes still closed.

"Whatever," Naruto said. "I'll see you all later." He left the compartment, wandering aimlessly down the corridor, glancing in at some of the compartments. It really shouldn't be so surprising, he'd never gotten along great with his classmates. Shikamaru and Choji were tolerable, and Kiba was fun to compete with sometimes, but Shino had always been aloof and Sasuke was just a jerk. Naruto had hated being stuck in the same place with him for the past two weeks.

Glancing in at another compartment, Naruto recognized the black-haired boy he'd seen in Diagon Alley sitting next to a boy with red hair and freckles. He slid the door open quickly.

"Hey!" He greeted them with a smile. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all," the boy said. Naruto took a seat next to him.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki," he introduced himself.

"Ron Weasley," said the redhead.

"I'm Harry Potter."

"Are you foreign?" Ron asked Naruto.

"Yeah, me and my classmates are from Japan."

"Wow, Japan? That's a long way away."

"A really long way," Naruto agreed. "And the trip here wasn't fun."

"Why did you come here?" Harry wondered. "Aren't there schools in Japan?"

"Yeah, but our headmaster met Dumbledore and wanted some of us to see what Hogwarts is like," Naruto repeated their cover story flawlessly. "So do you know anything about the school?"

Ron started telling them stories from his older brothers about school life, and both Naruto and Harry listened happily. Partway through, Naruto noticed that Harry had the same slightly envious expression as he did when Ron brought up another sibling. He guessed that, like himself, Harry didn't have any siblings. Hearing Ron talk about his five big brothers did make him a little jealous. They stopped briefly when a lady came by with a trolley of snacks and Harry bought some of everything. For a while they were engrossed in trying out the unusual treats, like Chocolate Frogs and Every Flavor Beans. Naruto had to spit out one that was ink flavored. Harry had thought it was funny that he knew what ink tasted like.

They were in the middle of admiring Chocolate Frog cards when the door slid open again to reveal a boy with pale blond hair flanked by a pair of much bigger and dumber looking boys.

"So it's true then," the blond boy said. "Everyone's been saying that Harry Potter is on the train."

"People talk about you?" Naruto asked Harry. The new arrivals looked bemused.

"You don't know who he is?"

"I'm from Japan," Naruto explained.

"Well, Mr. Potter here is responsible for the demise of our most infamous Dark Lord," the blond boy said dramatically. Harry looked embarrassed.

"I don't even know how it happened," he muttered. "I was one year old."

"That's cool," Naruto said off-handedly. "Can't compare to the Hokages though."

"The who?"

"Our village heroes," Naruto said proudly. "The Fourth killed a demon to save the whole village." He grinned cockily at the new boy.

"Never heard of them."

"Well I've never heard of Harry or this Dark Lord he beat."

"Then you're an idiot."

"I'm from out of town."

"An out of town idiot, then." He shook his head derisively, an action that reminded Naruto of Sasuke. "I'm Draco Malfoy," he introduced himself, holding his hand out to Harry. "You should be more careful about who you make friends with, Potter. You don't want to associate with the wrong sort."

"I can tell the wrong sort myself, thanks," Harry answered coolly. Malfoy sneered and lowered his hand.

"You'll come around soon enough, Potter." He glanced down the corridor with a frown. "Come on Crabbe, Goyle," he told his friends. The three of them left, the two large boys glaring at Harry, Ron, and Naruto. The shinobi-in-training slid the door shut in their faces.

"Malfoy," Ron muttered, making the word sound like a curse.

"You know him?"

"My dad's mentioned them. They're one of the old pure-blood families so they have a lot of money. Everyone thinks they're great."

"He's just a stuck up jerk. I know a guy just like him," Naruto said.

"Glad the other two didn't try anything though," Harry said. He looked a little nervous and Naruto wondered if he'd been bullied by larger kids before.

"Nah, they're all show. The one on the right wasn't balanced right to be ready for a fight, and the one on the left was too focused on Harry. Neither of them has actual experience with a fight."

"You sound like you do," Harry said.

"Yeah, the Academy teaches us martial arts," Naruto explained, remembering what taijutsu was called in this world.

"Cool," Ron said enthusiastically.

"So hey, what's up with that Dark Lord thing?"

"It's nothing," Harry said. "Like I said, I don't even know how it happened."

"You-Know-Who was terrorizing the country for years," Ron said. "The Ministry could barely slow him down. Then he went to the Potters house and -" he hesitated, glancing at Harry. The other boy nodded and gestured for Ron to continue. "He killed Harry's parents, but when he tried to kill Harry the curse backfired and You-Know-Who died instead."

"What's his name?"

"People don't like to say it," Ron said.

"Voldemort," Harry answered calmly. Ron jumped slightly in his chair, looking surprised.

"Weird name," Naruto said.

"Coming from a guy named Uzoo -" Ron paused, trying to remember Naruto's name, and the blond shinobi laughed.

"Uzumaki," he repeated. "And I guess you have a point."

"Anyway, Malfoy was right when he said that You-Know-Who was the most infamous Dark Wizard in Europe," Ron admitted. "So Harry's a bit of a hero." He dropped the subject when Harry clearly looked awkward.

"Say, back when I met him in Diagon Alley, Malfoy was talking about Hufflepuff and Slytherin," Harry said. "I asked Hagrid about the different Houses, but he just told me that my parents were in Gryffindor and I would probably be there."

"Yeah, Gryffindor is the best House," Ron agreed. "My whole family's been in Gryffindor, it'll be bad if I don't make it in there. Hufflepuff's not too bad, I suppose."

"How do they decide if we make it in a House or not?" Naruto asked.

"There's some Sorting process the first-years go through," Ron explained. "Fred and George have told me so many things that are absolute nonsense, I don't know what the actual Sorting is."

"What are the other Houses?"

"Ravenclaw and Slytherin. All the smart kids go to Ravenclaw -" Naruto immediately thought of Sakura. "And Slytherin is the House that every Dark Witch or Wizard has come from. You-Know-Who was in it."

"Why is it still around if everyone who goes there turns out bad?"

"I mean, I guess not every Slytherin is evil. It's just that all the Dark people are from there." He shrugged. "I might leave if I get put there."

They were distracted by a bossy girl showing up and asking them if they'd seen some other boy's toad. She seemed as smart as Sakura, Naruto thought, but as annoying as Ino. She left after a few minutes, once she'd pointed out some dirt on Ron's face and that they should get dressed in the school uniform soon. Naruto went back to the compartment with his classmates and his luggage to change. No one asked where he'd been, and he didn't bother asking them any questions. The train stopped soon after and he found Harry and Ron as they all got off.

"Firs' years, this way!" A booming voice reached them. The giant man Naruto had seen Harry with earlier came striding toward the crowd, carrying a lantern. Harry headed for him at once, Ron and Naruto following. "Hello, Harry!" the giant said upon seeing them.

"Hey, Hagrid," Harry said, grinning up at the man. Ron looked a little awed by Hagrid's size. Naruto just gave the man his usual toothy grin, which Hagrid responded to with a kind smile.

Once all the first years were gathered there, Hagrid led them down a path to the lake, where a small fleet of boats waited for them. Naruto got in a boat with Harry and Ron, and was a little surprised when Hinata joined them a minute later. He said hello to her - she'd been the nicest to him out of everyone in the group - and introduced her to his new friends. She greeted them all shyly before looking away, watching the water pass by as the boats all drifted automatically across the lake. All of them watched in awe as they rounded a bend and saw the castle they were headed for.

"That's Hogwarts?" Naruto whispered. The other three just nodded dumbly. It only took about ten minutes for the fleet of boats to reach the castle, where they docked in a small underground space. A severe looking old lady who Hagrid called Professor McGonagall showed up and guided them through the castle.

"You will wait here until I return to take you to the Great Hall," she said. "There, you will be Sorted into one of the four Hogwarts Houses." She left them there and chatter broke out at once. Naruto stayed out of it, and Harry and Ron followed his example. A horde of ghosts showed up after a few minutes, startling him. But after everything he'd seen in the last month, ghosts were nothing big. He sighed as even the dead people got involved in a debate about the Houses. Really, was it that important? Who cared what House accepted you?

XXXXX

_If you'd just thought for two seconds_, he berated himself.

XXXXX

He watched as Professor McGonagall went through a long list of students, calling them up to wear the Sorting Hat. Sometimes it took a minute or two for the Hat to decide. Others were instantaneous: It called out "SLYTHERIN!" for Malfoy as soon as it touched his head. It was equally quick to announce "HUFFLEPUFF!" for Hinata. Naruto thought that was good for the shy girl. The Hat's song had made Hufflepuff sound like it had the friendliest students. The Hat took quite a while to decide on a House for Harry, but it eventually declared "GRYFFINDOR!" to which most of the Hall burst into applause.

Almost everyone had been sorted when McGonagall called out "Uchiha, Sasuke!" and Naruto realized it was almost his turn. The Uchiha wore the Hat for only a minute before it called out "SLYTHERIN!" Naruto wasn't surprised, though Ino looked a bit shocked.

"Uzumaki, Naruto!"

Naruto hurried up to the stool and sat down, putting the Sorting Hat on. For a brief moment before it slipped down over his eyes, Naruto realized that everyone in the Hall was staring intently at him. It made sense, he supposed, that the foreigners should be a subject of interest.

"Indeed," the hat mused. "Quite an intriguing group, you shinobi lot."

_What do you mean?_

"Well, disregarding the fact that you're not of this world," the hat began. "You're all very driven for children your age. Even if you're after something silly or pointless, the motivation you have for that goal is astounding."

_Was Shikamaru motivated?_

The Hat laughed.

"In fact, no. But he's undoubtedly the smartest one of you."

_Seriously? He barely does anything in class! Sakura's way smarter than him._

"Sakura has to study and work hard to be as good as she is. Shikamaru doesn't study and barely does any work on tests, but he still passes everything. If he actually wanted to do well, he wouldn't have any competition. But we're getting off topic. You, Naruto, are quite interesting even for your kind."

_Why? 'Cause I don't care which House I go to?_

"Well, I agree that's not normal. And in fact, you suit them all quite well. You're certainly capable of Gryffindor's bravery, or Hufflepuff's loyalty, and you're smarter than you give yourself credit for. And what with all those pranks you pull, there's no doubt you've got Slytherin's cunning. But no, I was referring to something else. Your goal, to become Hokage… it's certainly something you want with all your heart, but I must warn you it could have bad consequences."

_Like what? Having the whole village ignore me? Growing up without family? Only having a single person in two worlds who genuinely cares about me? What would be worse than what I've gone through already?_

"Fair point," the hat conceded. "But don't think that things can't get worse. You could take the path that would get you to your goal quickest, and risk suffering as a result. Or you can take the path that will make you happy, but it might take longer to become Hokage."

_I _have_ to become the Hokage,_ Naruto declared. _Once I do that, the whole village will have to acknowledge me. I won't just be some freak they look down on. I don't care what you tell me will happen, I'll take the House that gets me the Hokage hat quicker._

He figured it was probably Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw that the Hat was talking about. Being in a House full of boringly ordinary people or brainiacs wouldn't be fun, but if it helped him improve quicker than Gryffindor, he was fine with that.

"As you wish," the Hat said, sounding resigned.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Naruto's jaw dropped slightly as the table cheered for him. He numbly took off the Sorting Hat and gave it back to McGonagall, then walked to his new House. Malfoy sneered at him, and Sasuke looked away as Naruto sat next to him. One or two of the older Slytherins greeted him, but that was about it.

XXXXX

_Should have listened to the damn hat_, Naruto sighed. _Too late now, I guess. I'll just have to make the most of this._ After all, living in the same dorm would give him tons of opportunities to prank Sasuke and Malfoy. He might be in this House, but he didn't like it any more than his friends did.

XXXXXXXXXX

This one took forever, and it turned out to be soooo long. I started writing it Monday afternoon then got up early Tuesday to finish it. But even though I glossed over some of the bits, I just kept finding more to write about, and it wound up being one of my longest chapters to date of any story I've written. I might have split it in two, except that I obviously had the end of the chapter in mind, and it wouldn't work if I'd made it two chapters. So, despite finishing it at midnight, I don't mind. This was worth it. I hope you all enjoy, and again, please check out the oneshot preceding this, Opening. Keep in mind this is going to be a long series of fics, so the other universes I show in Opening will turn up again in later stories, not this one. It'll take time before they start to all overlap, but eventually there's going to be some really great stuff. At least I hope there will be. Let me know what you think of this chapter!


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